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Contractors, take note. The winners have been chosen in The News’ third annual HVACR Instructor of the Year contest. The award-winning instructors profiled in this issue can be your key to finding qualified, educated technicians. They are the industry’s backbone, providing talented technicians to the industry.

You’ll pardon Dick Lane if he brags about his family a little. This runner-up in The News’ Instructor of the Year contest has six sons, four of whom are actively involved in the HVACR industry. Lane, the HVACR instructor at the Fairfield Career Center of the Eastland Vocational School District, Carroll, OH, is proud of all of his sons’ careers and happy to contribute to the industry through his teaching.

Tom Wittman’s business card lists his occupation as “coach.” The senior business trainer at International Service Leadership (ISL) is comfortable with that title, as he takes his role very seriously. Wittman led some of the sessions at the group’s recent Las Vegas meeting.

Continuous improvement is something that Jim Kroll applies to himself, his HVACR program, and his students. An instructor at Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC) in Abingdon, VA, Kroll is described by a former student as “relentless in his efforts to ensure the students have every advantage possible during their training.”

Rob Bates is an HVACR instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. His enthusiasm for HVACR is contagious. Combined with his professional accomplishments as an HVACR educator, it’s clear why he was chosen to be a runner-up in The News’ 2002 HVACR Instructor of the Year contest.

Bring up the subject of teaching to James Bergmann and watch out. The second-year HVACR instructor at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center (located outside of Cleveland, OH) will give you an earful, ten times over. And, for the most part, it will be all positive and upbeat talk.

HVAC instructor Bill Matthews is a subscriber to the “more is better” theory, and his commitment to providing a broad range of offerings to his students has helped him earn runner-up status in The News’ third annual HVACR Instructor of the Year contest.

This article is the first part of a four-part series on industry certification. In this installment, The News takes a look at three of the more well-known certification programs in order to determine which exams are offered and how the programs differ from one another.

Some individuals are natural born instructors. They have a knack for explaining difficult subjects in a way that makes sense and enlightens students. They also have a tremendous love for what they do. Jerry Parker can be added to that list of natural born instructors. In recognition of his talents, The News has chosen Parker as the HVACR Instructor of the Year.

ISH North America is hosting three days of seminars, exhibitions, and special events from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2002 at Toronto's National Trade Centre. Sponsored by Messe Frankfurt and other sponsors and partners, the theme of the trade show is “Forging a New Era of Products, Productivity and Profits.”